humour me
by SebonzaMitsuki27
Summary: ToushirouKarin. True love's kiss. That ought to do it.


humour me

disclaimer: bleach is not mine.

* * *

"… she's asleep." Hitsugaya Toushirou deduced in an instant.

It was an easy deduction to make, actually. He'd simply entered the room, Yuzu behind him, when he saw her: Kurosaki Karin. She lay in her bed, pyjama clad, eyes shut and hair prettily spread across her pillow, lips slightly parted open.

Yuzu looked at her feet, hiding either a mortified blush or a nefarious grin. Toushirou couldn't decide which just yet. In either case, the awake sister began to draw a circle on the floor with her toes.

"Well, yes, Hitsugaya-kun." Biting her lip, she continued. "But there's more to it than that."

"Really?" One eyebrow rose, sceptical. "You brought me here for a different reason that is _unrelated_ to her ability to not snore?"

He did not remember even voicing this concern. Not that he would. Karin's snoring, or lack thereof, was none of his business. And even if Karin _did_ snore, he had no doubt that it would be quite a pleasant sound to fall asleep to. If such a thing was possible. And if he was ever to sleep beside her, however unlikely.

"I did say there was more to it than that." Quietly, the younger sister added, interrupting his thoughts.

There was silence, and Yuzu took this as her cue.

"Once upon a time—"

"_Are you reciting a fairy tale to me?"_

"No, Hitsugaya-kun. Not at all. It's just… Karin-chan told me that it's best to romanticize a story – for more enjoyable listening purposes." She gave an innocent smile, along with puppy eyes for good measure.

Frankly, Toushirou was more inclined to believe that Kurosaki _Isshin_ had told her that rubbish. But since Yuzu had told him that _Karin_ had said it, it somehow bolstered the sentiment that he shouldn't interrupt Yuzu, thereby continuing her 'tale'.

He sighed, feeling disheartened. "Fine."

"Yay!" She began again. "Once upon a time lived Karin-hime. There also lived a witch! She was a good witch. Most of the time she pretended to be a fairy, and granted wishes and dishes and fishes; horses too, but I can't remember why." Puzzled, she pouted. "Anyway, she always made interesting potions. Very tasty potions, but the ingredients were… imaginative. Much more than anyone expected."

"Hey, this witch wouldn't be Inoue Orihime, would it?"

He was ignored.

"And so, this is where our trouble starts. A week ago, the witch prepared a special brew to cure Karin-hime's heartache."

_Heartache?_ Toushirou's eyebrow rose even higher. That didn't sound like Karin, princess or not.

"Well, Karin-hime was kind or oblivious to her heart's desire." A secret smile. "But then, so is—um, was—the knight in shining armour." Cryptically, Yuzu said, much to the tenth taichou's annoyance. "Still, it was clear to see that she—that _they_ were. Are. In love. But we'll get to that in a minute. The brew… backfired. Instead of curing Karin-hime of her heartache, it sent her into a deep slumber. One that lasted all week. And though it took some time, the witch found a cure! Um… what was it again?"

"True love's kiss!" Someone called from afar.

… it was unmistakeably Inoue Orihime.

"Right. True love's kiss!"

Her story over, Yuzu looked at him expectantly, as she herself backed to the door. Suspiciously so.

"… and?" He waited for her to get to the point.

"And at this stage, you, the knight in shining armour, wake Karin-hime—Karin-chan, with a kiss."

It was succinctly put, and what was left was a stunned silence.

"Oh." He blinked, strangely keen. For that idea. To happen. Immediately. He coughed. _If_ it worked. _Could it?_ "You're sure?"

She nodded, smile wide. "Absolutely."

"… alright then." He stepped a little closer to the slumbering Kurosaki.

Yuzu gave him a shove.

_There_. The distance had been crossed, Toushirou noted with a nod.

But… as he stood above her, he became aware that was completely clueless.

How _exactly_ was he supposed to kiss Kurosaki Karin?

A light peck really didn't seem adequate, and neither did sticking his tongue down her throat…

He hesitated, gazing at her – admiring the warmth of her cheeks and how peaceful she looked asleep. How lovely she was.

He missed her vivacious spark of life.

Taking a moment to prepare himself, he failed to notice Yuzu slipping out of the room.

Lifting Karin gently, Toushirou took care not to make any sudden movements that might affect her breathing. Or something to that effect.

Once hand secured her back. The other brushed strands of her black hair that fell across her face, and he occasionally stroked her cheeks.

It would, he hoped, be the perfect first kiss.

And with that in mind, he leaned in.

Hitsugaya Toushirou kissed Kurosaki Karin, and for one blissful second felt fluffy.

"… Toushirou."

And froze. Blood rushed to his cheeks.

Kurosaki Karin had woken up.

"What are you doing?"

"Um…" All possible coherent thoughts vanished in a burst of steam; the most he could think was _it actually worked!_

But before he said a word, Karin cut him off with a kiss of her own.

"That's one way to wake me up from my daily nap, I guess." Smirking, Karin pulled away only to tease him. "And hey," Her arms slid around his neck. "I never said _stop._"


End file.
